Why Sony Censored BMX XXX

Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed to IGN today that it requested Acclaim Entertainment to remove topless female images from BMX XXX on PlayStation 2. SCEA stated it posed a detrimental threat to Sony's console brand, adding that the edits were not crucial to the game's gameplay experience.

Announced at the Electronics Entertainment Exposition (E3) last May, Acclaim's extreme sports game, BMX XXX, features real topless females in both the Create-A-Player mode and in the Scores videos, which are rewards for achieving specific goals. But SCEA requested Acclaim to cover all female nipples in these two modes, while allowing Acclaim to display strippers' rear ends (with a thong), and the other 99% of the strippers' breasts.

"We asked Acclaim to cover the topless females," said a SCEA representative, who asked to remain anonymous. "We worked with Acclaim on this game, and none of the changes that we asked to be made affected gameplay. We didn't feel that the topless nudity fundamentally added to the gameplay experience, and it presented in issue with regard to our global platform strategy and our guidelines. And because we have invested so much, and have built in so much equity to our system, we feel we need to protect that."

But Sony isn't the only company concerned or weighing in with their own moral decisions. Several retail stores stated they won't distribute the M-rated game, through many of these same stores carry bloody and violent M-rated videogames, such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Hitman 2 and Resident Evil. Likewise, many of these same stores sell R-rated movies, DVDs, and anime not far from the videogame section of their stores.

The ESRB (Electronic Software Ratings Board), however, was created for just such a reason. Each videogame is labeled with the appropriate stamp, from EC ("Early Childhood"), E (for "everyone"), T for "Teen," to M for "Mature" and AO for "Adults Only." BMX XXX is rated M. Sony executives in North America felt the necessity to take the matter in their own hands.

"We obviously have been a big supporter of the ESRB rating codes, but we feel that the way this game is presented will detrimentally impact our platform and the brand," the Sony representative added. "Great games find an audience no matter what. And just as Acclaim has stated, perhaps this adjustment [the censoring of female topless nudity] may actually help BMX XXX find better retail space. Not because of gimmicks in it, but because it's a quality product."

Several retail chains have publicly stated they will not carry the game, including K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Toys R US, KayBee Toys, Best Buy and Circuit City. Acclaim is currently pressing retailers to carry the modified PS2 version, but to date, none have changed their stances.

"We anticipated going into the project that certain retail stores might not carry the game," said Alan Lewis, PR director at Acclaim. "However, the distribution for BMX XXX is substantial. We will be in more than 15,000 storefronts nationwide when the game launches on November 19."

Still, SCEA's global platform strategy guidelines appear inconsistent on a worldwide basis. The European version of BMX XXX has not be censored, Acclaim told IGN. It will ship with the Scores dancers showing full upper-body nudity and the Create-A-Riders with nipples.

An anonymous source working close to the project told IGN this: "The PAL version has all of the nudity in it. Sony is not being consistent about its stance worldwide. The bottom line is that they didn't want us to show nipples. Nintendo is the most youth-centric console of all the systems, and Nintendo didn't have a problem with it. That's why we have a rating system, which clearly distinguishes which games are, and are not, for children. If Nintendo didn't have a problem with it, why the hell would Sony? I simply don't know why."

"We believe that there is a general, unfair characterization of the interactive entertainment industry and as a result, our product is being held to an entirely different standard than other entertainment media with comparable content, including movies, television and radio," said Greg Fischbach, co-chairman and CEO of Acclaim, in a previous statement referring to retailer decisions to not distribute the game. "According to NPD's August report, more than 60% of all next-generation hardware owners are men over the age of 18, and this combined with the fact that last year's number one-selling game was mature rated, fully supports our belief in the demand for this type of content."

What BMX XXX represents is one of the biggest internal challenges the videogame is facing in years. While violence has been mostly accepted in videogames, sex, apparently, has not. Long thought of as the domain of children and dominated by game companies such as Nintendo, the videogame industry has recently come under fire for numerous reasons, ranging from marketing violence to children to sexism toward women.

But if NPD data is any indication, and more than 60% of the current-generation market is above the age of 18, then the videogame industry is changing faster than some publishers and retailers are willing to accept. Gamers that once played 8-bit NES games and coveted 16-bit Genesis cartridges have grown up, are rearing children, and still enjoy games. If anything, SCEA has been the biggest instigator of the industry's growth, marketing the PlayStation better than any console has been before, and the result is a bigger market demanding an even more diverse lineup of content, including more mature games.

"While we acknowledge that we are setting new benchmarks with BMX XXX, we are disappointed that there are groups who fail to see how this humorous product is truly on par with such widely accepted mainstream entertainment experiences, including movies like American Pie, and TV shows like The Sopranos and Sex and the City," added Fischbach. "As a leading publisher, we fully believe that consumers should have a right to choose their entertainment, and with that right comes the importance of responsible consumerism. This product was not designed for, nor is it being marketed to consumers under the age of 17, and we fully support the Electronic Software Rating Board and encourage consumers to utilize their rating systems to make educated purchases."

Neither Microsoft nor Nintendo -- which has consistently remained conservative on mature content, at least until recently -- feel the necessity to alter the game for their consoles. "Xbox lets parents restrict the games their children play," says John O'Rourke, director of worldwide Xbox marketing at Microsoft, Redmond, Washington. "We know that not all games are for all consumers."

Although IGN called Nintendo, company executives were unable to return our calls prior to deadline.

BMX XXX is slated to appear November 19 on all three major consoles, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.